Maggie M

Quick question - so we prepaid our JS gratuities earlier this year at the $16 rate...if we get lucky and win the Royal Up for a Grand Suite will the gratuities be added onto our Royal Up bid amount? So whatever we bid + an extra $4.5/night?

We loved the class as well - a lot of food and fun hats too! We didn't have sweet potato rolls but did have shrimp in one of our rolls; which was definitely cooked. I think all the ingredients/add-ons were optional so if someone is allergic to something just notify the restaurant in advance and they can probably make sure that your ingredients don't touch what you're allergic to. I would book the class in the cruise planner then cancel on-board if they can't accommodate the allergies. Our class sold out fast! I hope they get to do it!

Cancelled and rebooked 1 excursion (Lost Mayan Kingdom Water Park - Costa Maya) - originally paid $115 now $90 and the 24-pack of Evian waters. Saved about $60. Not a huge savings but still happy with the new prices! Less than $2 for a 1L bottle of water is a pretty deal IMO!

If my husband receives the same Diamond benefits as me on RC cruises - will he also get Elite status on Celebrity Cruises? Not a big deal if he doesn't but I'm hoping he will!

What's the secret barcode trick?

Just wondering if this still exists? I don't have it as an option on my cruise planner nor was it offered when we booked our cruise for February 2024 earlier this year. Should I call RC to inquire about it per the link or wait until we're on the ship?

Just booked the Millennium for our honeymoon in January 2025 - 12 nights to Bali, Malaysia, and Thailand! We can't wait! We were hoping to do the trip to Thailand on RC but there weren't many offerings and this option allows us 3 additional countries - it goes out of Bali but comes into Singapore!

I think it is possible to check your whole party in without having all their passport information? Is this correct? If so, can I do it through the app or do I have to use the website? Thanks!

Thanks all!

Does anyone know if you can book a Celebrity cruise onboard a Royal Caribbean ship with the Next Cruise team? We're looking at Bali and Thailand and RC doesn't have any options but Celebrity does and we're hoping to book on our next RC cruise if that's an option! Also does Celebrity give any discounts for RC Diamond status or would we just receive the benefits of diamond onboard Celebrity? Thanks!

Roll Call! We're getting excited for our first cruise with our toddler son early next year! Does anyone have any experience with Adventure Ocean on this ship? Any tips for traveling with a 3 year-old? All advice welcomed!

Great, thanks so much! We'll plan on using the app then to get the early spots on our next cruise!

We arrived just about 10-15 minutes before our scheduled boarding time and waited in line until it was our turn to board since we didn't have a suite for that cruise. The line moved fairly quickly and within about 20 minutes we were on the ship - they started checking us in about 10 minutes before our boarding time so the line was already moving when we got there! We try to always get the early arrival times too!

I can't remember - can you check-in (IE: Get the arrival time/boarding window) WITHOUT putting in your passport and credit card information for everyone in the party, or do you have to complete ALL those steps in order to secure a boarding time?

We booked through Air2Sea and they gave us only 30 minutes to catch our connection in Charlotte. I didn't catch this until after I hung up and that is not enough time in Charlotte especially when traveling with a toddler in tow. I called back to reschedule and they said I had to cancel and re-book but that I would be refunded 100% without a change fee so that was nice; only caveat was that it would/could take up to 2 full billing cycles to see the credit. I then saw that I had a travel credit with American Airlines versus a refund from Royal when logging into the American app. I called American who told me to call Air2Sea who told me to call American. It was a back and forth for hours before I finally got a supervisor who said they would be requesting the refund to my credit card versus the corporate card that was used to purchase the ticket via Air2Sea. There may be some benefits of Air2Sea but if something like the connection time needs to be changed/cancelled, I found that going through them was more of a headache than booking directly with the airlines. When I did get refunded (albeit about a week or 2 later v. 2 months) - I found that prices went down and I booked directly through the airline versus a third party. Just my experiences. Best of luck to you!

I typically recommend doing RC excursions but we’re switching it up this year in Cozumel and doing an all day trip to Mr. Sanchos beach resort. We heard about it on this site and it had great reviews and was reasonably priced and should be entertaining for our toddler! Belize used to be a great spot for snorkeling and scuba diving years ago when I went but it’s been about a decade since I was there so can’t comment on how the reef has faired over the years…We’re doing the glass bottom boat and sloth/monkey excursion in Roatan via RC! And we’re also going to do the Mayan water park in Costa Maya. They all seem like they’ll be entertaining for our family. Can anyone else comment on these excursions or some other good options in these ports? We’re doing the same cruise as you February 3-10 and can’t wait! Hope you all have a blast!

Sorry for the delayed reply. Our check-in time was 11am I believe and we got there at 1015...they didn't let our line (designated for our specific check-in time) start moving until about 1045/1050. So they were pretty strict with our arrival time window. I hope this helps. Trying to get on when check-in opens will help you better ensure that you get the arrival time window you're looking for and can make the most of your ship time!

Thanks all!

Has anyone stayed here? Hampton Inn & Suites Ybor city downtown - they have a free shuttle to the port and hot breakfast and a pool…it’s too far out to get an accurate price but I’m hoping it’s under $300 for the one night we’ll be staying there…

I'm OK with not making Pinnacle in my lifetime - I don't really need another nametag... LOL - I must say, I do love the cruisers that are very proud to wear those nametags though - I just wish they wouldn't complain to the Diamond concierge about every little thing. My parents are at 163 and never received a crystal block at 140...I wonder how back-logged they are? I'll hit 140 on our next cruise!

We did - we got tacos & drinks at the bar/restaurant by the port where they drop you off after the excursion. We shopped a bit around there too!

Does anyone have suggestions for where to stay the night before the cruise close to the port in Tampa? Trying to plan ahead - we'll have a 3 year old with us so a pool is definitely preferred! Thanks!

We just did this cruise and did the Deer Island Kayak excursion too - it was wonderful but the kayak is definitely more than 0.5 miles that the guide said it was...we lost 4 people on our kayak trip because they couldn't make the trek - a boat came alongside us the whole way just in case people got tired! It was a pretty hike too but definitely bring closed toed shoes for it.

Do you remember the age limit for the Monkey Jungle / Iguana Farm? Trying to find some excursions that will be ok for a 3/4 year-old on the Western Caribbean side. Thanks!

We just booked our son's first cruise for next year...he'll be 2 months shy of turning 4 but still 3. They haven't opened up our excursions yet for our ports (Belize, Costa Maya, Cozumel, & Roatan) but I'm wondering if anyone knows of any age-appropriate RC excursions we could potentially book for him once they open? How strict is Royal with ages...would they consider letting him go on a 4+ excursion since he'll be so close to that age or no? Just wanting to set our expectations and I'd love to bring him off the ship with us - even if it is just for a beach day! Thanks!